Number 9

[Pompey55]

Just announced Kusini Yengi from the A League

[Pompey55]

Either we have seen something no one else has seen but he really must be one for the future
24 years old we say he is a centre forward which is strange as he played virtually all last season on left wing
His younger brother was picked up by Ipswich 3 years ago and has received a contract extension recently
I wonder how all those clubs with established networks in Australia missed him
Just some raw data from his statistics
4 years in the A League played in 46 out of a possible 104 games
46 games 10 goals 4 last season 7 assists 1 last season 18 games out of 26 last season
Rarely plays a full game averaging 55 minutes a game
Majority of his recent games at left wing
As I say one for the future as I cant see him playing 40+ games a season immediately
Expats on other sites not complimentary league at National League level at best
Or as Dwight Yorke said pub League level
I really hope this isn’t our “Marquee” signing

Yes I am not impressed at all with this signing

[Pompey1984+1]

Are we expecting a marquee signing? Like Saydee he's been bought to provide competition and something different to Bishop.

Speaking of Saydee I'm looking forward to him scoring a last minute winner one Saturday and the headlines being Saydee nights alright....

[Claygate]

https://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/202 ... ins-blues/

Reading between the lines, it would appear consistency of performances is the issue with Yengi. So another Hackett?

[Jack_Tinn]

Bit of a wild card signing for me. Pleased to read though that he is 24yo and 6'2".

Mousinho describes him as "... really quick, powerful and physical centre-forward, who can run in behind"

Sounds like something that Pompey can work and develop with.

[Pompey55]

A really quick and powerful centre forward who spent all last season playing on the left wing for Western Sydney and last played a full season at centre forward in 2020/21 as he missed most of 2021/22 with a serious quad injury
I'm confused with this unless the club see his potential going forward as a centre forward
I just hope he's more another Aloisi than another Thorp

[BlueinPLtwenty]

I think when you look at the January signings : Macey, Lane & Towler all three came good. It will be interesting to see how the nine signings play with the proviso that we are not going to get 100% success and some are a work in progress. It`s positive that they are all on board before the `Spanish Inquisition``

[Pompey1984+1]

A really quick and powerful centre forward who spent all last season playing on the left wing for Western Sydney and last played a full season at centre forward in 2020/21 as he missed most of 2021/22 with a serious quad injury
I'm confused with this unless the club see his potential going forward as a centre forward
I just hope he's more another Aloisi than another Thorp

Who were the last three signings you were happy with, and what was it about those players that set them apart? (I include players who at the time of signing you were happy about but it didn't work out).

Have we linked with anyone you would be happy about us signing?

Have we signed anyone recently who has surprised you by how good they have turned out to be?

[Betelgeuse]

Hmm, I find it strange that we have paid in the region of £80k for the Aussie, yet Tommy Leigh is available for £200k with a proven record in the last few seasons and we haven't signed him...yet.

[NSRailings]

Ninth signing and no loans so far. That's a massive difference to last season.

[godmcgarvey]

Jamal Lowe was a player picked up from non league after being deemed not good enough so I will pass judgement after seeing him play

[Pompey55]

A really quick and powerful centre forward who spent all last season playing on the left wing for Western Sydney and last played a full season at centre forward in 2020/21 as he missed most of 2021/22 with a serious quad injury
I'm confused with this unless the club see his potential going forward as a centre forward
I just hope he's more another Aloisi than another Thorp

Who were the last three signings you were happy with, and what was it about those players that set them apart? (I include players who at the time of signing you were happy about but it didn't work out).

Have we linked with anyone you would be happy about us signing?

Have we signed anyone recently who has surprised you by how good they have turned out to be?

I’ve already said that I’m ok with Norris Scully and Whyte and they bring something to the club but none significantly improve on what we had last season
I also have said the signings of Towler,Lowery and Lane were positive
But in this case there is nothing to suggest that Yengi is anything more than an hopeful punt
Generally Aussie players with potential are picked up early by either Asian clubs or European clubs as happened to his brother and the current Western Sydney centre forward who played his trade in Germany before returning home
All I’m seeing so far are 3 good league one players in the aforementioned 3 and then just a case of filling the squad with nothing better than those we released but likely to be in significantly lower wages than Jacobs Robertson Freeman and Tunnicliffe
We still lack a proven creative attacking midfield player and experienced striker to cover / complement Bishop and keeper cover
Obviously getting Bernard permanently would be good but as he was here last season that’s obviously not an improvement on last seasons squad is it
I can not with these 9 signings see anything more than a playoff push
Sorry its more mostly quantity over quality so far
I hope I wrong and if I am will say so but at present let’s just see how they perform

[Pompey55]

Hmm, I find it strange that we have paid in the region of £80k for the Aussie, yet Tommy Leigh is available for £200k with a proven record in the last few seasons and we haven't signed him...yet.

Proven record! last season 7 goal 1 assist in 39 league games
I also find it strange we have gambled £80k on unproven potential from a pretty low quality league

[jam tomorrow]

Hmm, I find it strange that we have paid in the region of £80k for the Aussie, yet Tommy Leigh is available for £200k with a proven record in the last few seasons and we haven't signed him...yet.

Proven record! last season 7 goal 1 assist in 39 league games
I also find it strange we have gambled £80k on unproven potential from a pretty low quality league

I believe he is a wildcard striker not an attacking midfielder so still scope for Leigh or equivalant prefer someone like Panutche Camara

[Blue Walter]

I don't suppose anyone will be surprised that I veiw this last signing in much the way as Mr 55. In my veiw this summer's transfer activity is not the sort of activity that has a serious attempt at promotion written all over it. I don't know where the confidence is coming from to achieve promotion.

I think some of the transfers have been good with Devlin being the stand out deal. I think this was an excellent piece of business by the club. I think Saydee could turn out to be good as well but I don't think he was acquired to make an instant impact for this apparent promotion push. Scully is a good bit of business given his record at this level. Whyte was, apparently, wanted by other clubs and he is a winger, but let's not pretend he comes with Championship pedigree though. He hardly played at that level and was loaned out at lower level with a good period at Hull. We needed a keeper and Norris seems to have experience at this level as well. I veiw these transfers as positives, although not necessarily an improvement on last seasons team.

I see Shaughnessy, Sparkes, and Stevenson as average League One players. People keep pointing to players such as Primus & Lowe as examples of what can happen to players but I would venture the list of players who came here with little or no pedigree and left with proof of why they hadn't is much longer.

I don't doubt that these players have cost money or that the club have saved money on the players that have left. I see the fact we won't be reliant on loan players so much an improvement and that we haven't sold our best players to make our transfer kitty deceptively higher, not yet anyway.

This last signing is number 9 of the 9 or 10 signings we told to expect so, hopefully, signing number 10 will be Bernard. That means our business is almost done and, in my veiw, not a transfer business period that had promotion written all over it. Last season we had a reasonable team for this level with some good players. I thought that we would be bringing in players that added quality and augmented the players already here. It seems to me Mousinho has brought in players that he sees that can be fashioned into a tight unit with potential. That takes time which could well mean another period of Cowleys favourite term of a 'team in transition'. That's not a promotion team.

This last signing begs the question when is a player too old to be 'one for the future'. Because his record suggests that he is certainly not one for the present. I remain underwhelmed and no doubt going to get flak from all those that know better.